Wireless local area networks (WLANs) have evolved rapidly over the past decade, and development of WLAN standards such as the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 Standard family has improved single-user peak data throughput. For example, the IEEE 802.11b Standard specifies a single-user peak throughput of 11 megabits per second (Mbps), the IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g Standards specify a single-user peak throughput of 54 Mbps, the IEEE 802.11n Standard specifies a single-user peak throughput of 600 Mbps, and the IEEE 802.11ac Standard specifies a single-user peak throughput in the gigabits per second (Gbps) range. The IEEE 802.11ax Standard, now under development, promises to provide even greater throughput, such as throughputs in the tens of Gbps range.
The IEEE 802.11a, b, g, n, ac, ax standards utilize 20 MHz channels between about 2 GHz and 6 GHz. The IEEE 802.11n Standard permits two 20 MHz channels to be bonded to form a 40 MHz channel, whereas the IEEE 802.11ac and ax standards allow up to eight 20 MHz channels to be bonded to form up to a 160 MHz channel.
The IEEE 802.11ad Standard utilizes 2.16 GHz channels between about 47 GHz and 70 GHz. The much wider channels in the IEEE 802.11ad Standard as compared to IEEE 802.11ax, for example, potentially provide higher date rates. Because of the higher frequencies in the IEEE 802.11ad Standard as compared to IEEE 802.11ax, for example, wireless signal attenuation is more pronounced, and thus beamforming technology is important for maintaining a suitable range.
The IEEE 802.11ay Standard, now under development, promises to improve upon the IEEE 802.11ad Standard.